Paul Pierce -- He made 12 of 26 field-goal attempts, 11 of 13 free throws, had 14 rebounds, four assists and even provided a Tim Tebow imitation, going down on one knee at midcourt with his had touching his forehead with 1:15 left.

"I wanted to be aggressive from the start," he said. "I knew I was going to play a lot tonight. I'm the leader of the team, especially with Rondo out, Ray Allen out. ... We tried to find a way to win.''

Chicago Bulls -- With the reigning MVP gone, the Bulls looked out of sorts in the second half as the young Sixers ran past them for 62 points after intermission.

Josh Smith -- The Hawks forward left with 4:20 to play with a knee sprain as Boston led 74-72. The Celtics then scored five points in a row and stayed safely ahead from there. Smith will be re-evaluated Wednesday.

New York Knicks -- There was no game Tuesday for New York, but the Knicks learned forward Amare Stoudemire will miss Thursday's Game 3 against the Miami Heat and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's Game 4. He cut his left hand and injured a small muscle when he punched the case surrounding a fire extinguisher Monday after the Knicks lost Game 2.

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About Reid and Mike

Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.

He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

Michael Hiestand has covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY, tackling the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.